Max and the Freaks

Two troubled men face their terrible destinies and events of their past as they join together on a mission to find the Holy Grail and thus to save themselves.

Host Scott Forrest presents a curated compilation of eight independent short films in this rapid-fire science-fiction feature. Genres collide, narratives twist, aesthetics clash, and even humor, both campy and dystopian, showcase the vast creative possibilities of each story's individual world, offering the viewer a brief glimpse into the lives of every character's attempt to survive the otherworldly chaos around them. Released in 2001, the selected shorts span original creation dates of 1997 to 2001; most of the featured filmmakers also appear as themselves in short video interviews to talk about their inspirations, creative process and motivations while working on their individual shorts.

Ines, who wants to change who she is and become someone else in order to cover up her insecurities. When she accompanies her boyfriend Lucas on a business trip to Norway, Ines meets a half-Japanese tourist, Maria, who instantly fascinates her. Suddenly Maria disappears, and Ines seizes the opportunity to replace her – she declares herself dead and travels to Japan in order to take over Maria's identity. There, she will get a job at Miss Osaka, the same nightclub where Maria used to work. A game of broken boundaries, lost identities and the dangerous balance between reality and the past has begun, and Ines must abide by the new rules by avoiding the more obscure paths.

In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.

Die Letzte Droge

A naive Canadian barber who knows US popular culture inside and out meets a flamboyant roadie who needs someone to drive her and her "brother's" corpse from Thunder Bay, Ontario to New Orleans. Chaos ensues after the barber agrees to drive her, the corpse, and the drugs stashed within all the way.

A documentary about Cairo Jazz Festival's Amr Salah and his struggle every year to bring people and arts together in a country where 70% of people are under 30 and the Officials do not care about culture too much.

Short film made using cardboard cutouts of a classic Western scene

In the Swedish city of Lethe, people from different walks of life take part in a series of short, deadpan vignettes that rush past. Some are just seconds long, none longer than a couple of minutes. A young woman remembers a fantasy honeymoon with a rock guitarist. A man awakes from a dream about bomber planes. A businessman boasts about success while being robbed by a pickpocket, and so on. The absurdist collection is accompanied by Dixieland jazz and similar music.

After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity, and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness.

When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patient's dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist can stop it and recover it before damage is done: Paprika.

Iris, a woman abroad in Seoul, teaches French and English in an idiosyncratic fashion that allows her to pursue her own philosophical and personal interests. Through four encounters over a single day, Iris probes students and strangers for information about poetry, their own histories, and their relationship to their egos.

The Life & Times of Bobby Keys ... decades-long Sax player with The Rolling Stones, best friend to Keith Richards, and session player with John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Delaney & Bonnie, George Harrison, Dr. John, Joe Cocker, Harry Nilsson, Ian McLagan, Keith Moon, Etta James, Ronnie Wood, Sheryl Crow, Ringo Starr, Joe Ely, Warren Zevon, Billy Preston, Donovan, Marvin Gaye, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand, John Hiatt, Yoko Ono and B.B. King.

By light, or lack thereof, and sound, or lack thereof, I’ve tried to disassociate and then return to find something strange in the most familiar.

Saxophone player Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker comes to New York in 1940 and is quickly noticed for his remarkable way of playing. He becomes a drug addict but his loving wife Chan tries to help him.

Despite her sheltered upbringing, Jenny is a teen with a bright future; she's smart, pretty, and has aspirations of attending Oxford University. When David, a charming but much older suitor, motors into her life in a shiny automobile, Jenny gets a taste of adult life that she won't soon forget.

A collection of magical tales based upon the actual dreams of director Akira Kurosawa.

Xiao Lan's first sexual experience is on the beach with a football jock from her school. When the boy leaks a photo of her in a sexually compromising position online, Xiao Lan's entire world collapses. Alone without anyone to help, she turns to comfort from men on the internet.

An Inuit hunter races his sled home with a fresh-caught halibut. This fish pervades the entire film, in real and imaginary form. Meanwhile, Axel tags fish in New York as a naturalist's gofer. He's happy there, but a messenger arrives to bring him to Arizona for his uncle's wedding. It's a ruse to get Axel into the family business. In Arizona, Axel meets two odd women: vivacious, needy, and plagued by neuroses and familial discord. He gets romantically involved with one, while the other, rich but depressed, plays accordion tunes to a gaggle of pet turtles.

Lucas Simons, an 11-year-old filmmaker, is obsessed with death after the loss of his brother. When Lucas accidentally captures a mysterious presence in one of his films, he inadvertently becomes a YouTube phenomenon, and must learn to live life in the spotlight while also learning how to once again start living life to its fullest.